Modern Apocalypse
by cFairyWriter
Summary: 5 years after a cataclysmic event in the modern world, nothing is left but ash and pockets of survivors. Natsu, Gray and Gajeel have been wandering together for years in search of somewhere to call home. After all this time you would think things were starting to look up for them...right? Rated M for language mostly. I don't own FairyTail or the characters though that'd be nice
1. Chapter 1

**These little ideas for things keep popping up in my head so I'm gonna write this one out and see where it goes. Anyways the main idea is a Modern AU where, 5 years after an Apocalyptic event, the world is nothing more than ash and stragglers trying to survive. The tale begins with three well known characters of the FairyTail world and follows them on their way across North America, seeking shelter and a place to hopefully call home. Please y'all review and tell me what you think cause I don't know if I'll continue with this**

Dusk fell upon the small destroyed town. A small wind wound itself through the emtpy, eerily grey buildings before continuing on its way back down the main road. Three figures strode down that same street, pulling their hoodies and scarves tighter to their faces as ash and dust was thrown around from the wind. Walking behind them the farthest to the right was the tallest, with a large, buttoned up black jean duster that fell to his knees with the only other thing being seen were his dark brown trousers and black combat boots leaving large tracks in the dust of the road. The fartherst on the right was dressed mostly the same, though instead of a black duster his was a dark blue. His dark black hair wasn't covered with a hoodie like his counterpart though, leaving it open to dust and ash to fall silently onto it like snow on a feild. Shifting slightly he moved some of the weight in his pack around to try and give his back a break.

"Fucking wind. Think I just ate some more dust." The tallest of the three figures growled from underneath a black hood and an even blacker bandana that covered his mouth.

"Probably more nutritious than Natsu's cooking." The man on the left snorted when the man in the middle hit him in the chest.

"Shut up, Gray." The muffled voice came from under a miraculously still white scarf. A grey duster outlined his dirtied blue jeans and a red Chicago Blackhawks baseball cap sheilded his hair and eyes.

"We've gotta find somewhere to rest for the night." The gravelly voice from the tallest of the three pointed towards what looked like an old hotel about two blocks away. "That looks like a good place to try and find some food." The others nodded and the small group headed along down the road towards the large building.

"Holy shit is that an-"

"It totally is!" Gray cut Natsu off before he could finish.

"Never thought I'd be this happy to see a god damned Super 8 again in my life!" The three men laughed and strode up to what used to be the front doors of the hotel.

"Knock knock!"

"Shut up Gajeel there could actually be somebody here." At that moment Natsu tripped over what was left of a glass door frame and hit the ground.

"Smooth as a Salamander." Gray laughed whole heartedly as his friend of four years brushed himself off and stood up.

"Fuck off." The three looked around. The lobby was of an average size with random couches and chairs scattered around and a desk facing them, all covered in ash and dirt of course.

"Guns out boys; sweep the place." Gray pulled a pair of Beretta M9's from underneath his duster and pointed them down the hallway to his right. Gajeel did the same with a pair of Colt Anaconda's and headed down the left hallway to sweep those rooms.

"Guess I get the front desk and the kitchen." Natsu grunted and brought around the shotgun that hung on his back. Stepping carefully through the ash he jumped the counter and checked the back room, finding nothing but an old candy bar that was far from edible. Sighing he thudded his way around the desk and down a single hallway just off the one that Gajeel had wandered into towards what he assumed would be a kind of ballroom and kitchen. Finding exactly that he swept the place quickly looking for signs of other people and, to his relief, finding none. "Please something canned, please something canned." The kitchen proved a slightly better ordeal in that Natsu found three cans of peaches along with some beans and what looked like Campbells soup, though the label had worn off years ago. Throwing them all into the seperate coat pockets that dotted his duster Natsu headed back to the front where his companions were already waiting for him.

"Find anything?"

"Rooms were all cleared. Thought I saw a cat but he was probably to skinny to eat anyways."

"Same thing except for the cat, you?" Natsu grinned and threw down the canned goods.

"Looks like supper is a treat tonight boys!" The three men grinned and picked up the cans to move into the first room of the right hallway.

"I'm going to make this soup outside." Natsu grabbed matches and some kindling from Gray's pack after the man threw it onto one of the beds, coughing while dust from the action filled his lungs.

"Sounds good. Keep the shotgun handy, this place is giving me the creeps." Gajeel called from the bathroom that was right beside where the door to the hallway stood, testing to see if the miracle of running water was still in the building. Nodding at the advice, Natsu himself walked out and back into the street to start a quick fire. Using some tongs he held the can of soup- beef and barley as it turned out- over the yellow flames and whistled to himself while the contents heated up. Looking around he noticed the Sun was close to hiding away behind the buildings and hoped that he was inside before it truly got dark.

"World is to fucked up for anyone to be out here at night." He kept whistling until the soups was steaming and quickly kicked out the fire before running inside. Natsu hated the dark, especially now a days. He knew it was childish but the shadows always gave him funny ideas about what was lurking in them, playing with his mind and making him see things. Just as he got through the front doors he made the mistake of looking down the left corridor and nearly shrieked in horror before sprinting towards his room and slamming the door shut in desperate fear.

"Guys! Guys I think I saw some-" Natsu stopped mid sentance. Gray and Gajeel were sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, not making a sound and staring at the ground in front of them.

"Shit." The door behind him opened and the cold feeling of a gun pressed itself against the back of Natsu's head.

"You're damn right shit. Now go sit down and don't do anything fucking stupid." Natsu did as he was told and sat down beside the other two to form a trainge on the ground in front of the two beds in the room.

"That was way easier than it should have been." A boy with orange hair and a long red coat knelt down behind Gajeel with a blade pointed into the back of his neck.

"Tell me about it." An identical boy knelt behind Natsu and pressed his own knife to the back of Natsu's neck.

"Now now twins, we can't talk while our guests are praying for their lives." From where Gajeel was sitting he could see the man talking to the twins now, an older looking man with a small tattoo below each eye and long grey hair spiked around his head.

"Come on Erigor let's just kill em now and be done with it!"

"Now now boys, give them a chance to pray." Erigor smiled and put his gun to Gray's head, cocking the hammer back. A sudden sound, nothing more than a picture frame falling, distracted the men to look to the hallway. It was a mere second of broken concentration, but it was long enough for Gray, Natsu and Gajeel to fight back. Natsu and Gajeel both spun and threw their elbows out to connect with the jaws of their knife-weilding captors, sending the younger men down with small thuds. The two didn't have much time to do much else other than scream before a knife came plunging down into their throats to send gouts of blood spurting from the veins. Gurgling in unison the action even caught Erigor off guard and the man only remembered Gray when two M9 barrels were pressed against the underside of his jaw.

"Pray as much as you want, God is gone." Gray pulled the triggers and sent blood and brain splashing across the wall between the two beds behind Erigor. Re-holstering his fire arms Gray grabbed the can of soup that Natsu had left to sit in the middle of their triangle and gulped back some of the now luke-warm broth.

"Really? Can't even warm up soup properly? Jeeze you're awful at this."

**So, that's that. I really need to hear what y'all think on this one so please review and comment and anything/everything else you wanna do! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

He hated night watch. He hated it enough that it was the reason Gray and Gajeel continually put him on night watch. It was only for a few hours but still, the leftover batteries were supposed to be for emergencies only and starting a fire could alert any enemies, such as the now dead bodies that lay outside the building, to where they were meaning that all he had as a full source of light was the full moon that gazed down upon the Earth from above. Therefore Natsu sat on a chair inside the door of their room flicking on and off a lighter that he had carried around with him for the last five years. Gray and Gajeel snored peacefully in beds that had been very carefully combed for any blood or brains that were left over from the incident with the twins and Erigor. Thinking back to that small skirmish Natsu reached down and un-holstered his new gun from his right ankle. It was a Baretta 92FS, standard gun amongst anybody who wanted to defend themselves before all hell broke loose years ago. Raiding even the smallest of gun shops led to finding at least an ammo box or four for the guns making them common beyond all belief so luckily the group had lots of the exact ammo that was needed for the gun.

While he did enjoy his shotgun Natsu had needed a longer ranged weapon for quite a while now. Just a few weeks ago a fire-fight had erupted between their group and another one after somebody had tried to steal one of Gajeel's studs, off of his face, while he was sleeping. While the first couple of people had been relatively easy to subdue being at such close range the others had quickly dispersed making Natsu's shotgun ineffective for the rest of the fight. Remembering a few weeks ago Natsu felt the tears forming in his eyes. The group had still been four back then, but that fight had brought their numbers down and lost them all a good friend.

"Fuckin hell, why'd you have to be so stupid." Natsu re-holstered the gun in anger and continued to play with his lighter for a bit before checking his watch. About half an hour now until he could wake up Gajeel and get some sleep. Wiping the weariness from his eyes Natsu was about to get up and stretch when something crunched from outside the room. Panicking the man pulled his switchblade from his back jean pocket and hid behind the door as it slowly opened inwards. Soft footprints moved their way through the doorway to the bathroom where the intruder seemed to stop and start opening cabinet doors.

"_Looking for anything hidden no doubt._" Whoever the intruder was he was smart enough for that to be his first apporach to his investigation. Holding his breath Natsu slammed the door shut and charged the intruder head on. His yelling woke Gray and Gajeel who both jumped from their sleep with guns ready to go. Natsu for his part landed in the bathtub with the would be intruder though the initial shock from his tackle had knocked the switchblade out of his hand and into the sink. Though he couldn't see anything he felt the first blow land on his head and the second hit his inner thigh. Cursing he threw his own punch and finally felt the satisfying feeling of his fist connect with...boob? Realizing that it was in fact a woman he was fighting, and a very well endoubed woman at that, Natsu jumped from the bathtub and full on sprinted out of the dark room while slamming the door behind him.

"The fuck is going on in there?!" Gray was panting from the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"I have a switchblade! Don't you fucking come in here!" A female voice resounded from inside the bathroom. Natsu Was still pulling on the door handle to make sure that the woman didn't pull it by surprise and yank him back into the bathroom with her.

"Is that a chick?"

"Yes that's a chick!"

"Why the hell is there a chick in the bathroom?"

"Oh well you know I opened up the curtain of the shower and suddenly she was there WHY DO YOU FUCKING THINK SHE TRIED TO BREAK IN AND I LOCKED HER IN THERE!" Gajeel laughed as Natsu's face got redder and redder from frustration.

"I SWEAR TO GOD I KNOW HOW TO USE THIS AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO DO SO!" The girl screamed at them again, more desperation laced into her voice than before.

"I'd say there's about another three hours before we get any sunlight which gives us two options, open fire on the bathroom and kill her or wait till daylight and leave the room and her here." The three men stood thinking for a good minute about Gajeel's plan until Gray finally spoke up.

"She didn't hurt any of us so I don't think we really need to kill her. Plus it's kind of a waste of ammo." The other two nodded in agreement.

"Alright then. I'm going back to bed." Gajeel stumbled his way back to his bed and flopped down on it without looking back. Gray nodded his approval at the plan and did the same. Natsu, alone once again, sat down in the chair and put the shotgun by his chair.

"I don't know how much of that you heard, but you're lucky were nice. I'm gonna sit hear 'till the Sun comes up and then we're gonna head out of here to look around town. While were gone you can let yourself out and never come back, got it?" Silence resonated from the bathroom but Natsu knew for a fact that he was loud enough she could hear him.

"Do you promise?" The small voice was closer to the door, she had moved.

"Stick a needle in my eye." There was a small hint of laughter from the other side of the door and Natsu grinned.

"We got a couple of hours. What's your name?" Silence for a few seconds.

"Lucy."

"Well Lucy I'm Natsu. Pleased to meet you."

"Why are you being nice? I saw what you did to those men." It was Natsu's turn to pause before answering.

"You know we really don't like killing. Even now this long on the road together none of us actually enjoy the act of doing it. But sometimes we have to. If we truly don't then there's no point but if it's life or death we do what we have to." Natsu looked down at his feet sadly. "We all learned that the hard way at some point." The silence between them was longer this time before Lucy finally spoke.

"Can I come with you?" Natsu smiled.

"Tell you what. We'll talk about it in the morning okay?"

"Okay." The rest of the night went on in silence and a few hours later the sun started to rise on a new day.

**Looks like a new player has joined! Sorry for slow/random updates, I'm doing this one as I go. Please review and comment!**


	3. Chapter 3

"No." Gajeel crossed his arms and glared down at the blonde haired girl that stood in front of him. "Not happening. We tried four once, that didn't end well."

"One more mouth to feed but at the same time one more person for group strength." Gray looked her up and down while reviewing the options.

"Still a no. We don't need a girl in the group, that always causes problems." To make his point Gajeel stared down Gray and waited for him to react.

"Come on guys. We need another person. We were a group of four since this all began!" Natsu was trying his best but so far it wasn't working that well. They had been conversing for an hour, all the while scouring through stores and homes of the small town that they had slept in that night. Lucy trailed beside them silently listening to the conversations being held between the men.

"And look where that got us!" He didn't yell but there was some pain in Gajeel's voice.

"That was a fluke. Bad decisions were made and consequences were dire."

"He DIED!" They were standing in an old ratty book store when Gajeel finally snapped. He turned and threw a kick out that caught Natsu in the chest, sending him into a bookshelf that stood behind him. Dusty volumes and novels came crashing down on the man but before the last ones hit the ground he was back up and swinging a right hook into Gajeel's chin.

"Will you two knock it off." Before they could engage any more Gray snapped his blue duester and appeared silently between them. "We don't need this right now." He looked at Lucy. She was wearing black jeans and a grey tank top with a black leather coat that came down to her hips thrown over top of it. A black Blue Jays tuque sat on top of her long blonde hair with a dark blue scarf wrapped around her neck. All of it was covered in mud and dust though showing the struggle that the clothes had brought their wearer through in the five years since the Apocalypse.

"Can you fight?" He stared her down for a couple seconds before she answered.

"Yes."

"Who taught you?"

"My father."

"Where is he now?" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Dead."

"So you have nobody?"

"Nobody." Gray turned to the Gajeel.

"Two to one. I say give her a chance." Gajeel just snorted and pulled his black hood up over his face and went back to looking through the books.

"Thank you." Lucy smiled at Gray. "What are you looking for anyways?"

"Well we need something to do while we're on the road!" Natsu popped up from behind a random shelf farther in the back. "How many more of those Percy Jackson books you need Gray?" Gray pursed his lips together in thought.

"Last two of the second series if they got em!" A smile lit up Natsu's face as he held up the books that Gray had just described.

"Nice!"

"Hey Pinky!" Natsu turned to Gajeel who was holding three massive volumes in his hands. "Histories of Middle-Earth. Still in good condition as well. Peace offering." He shoved the books into Natsu's hands and walked out of the book store sullenly. Natsu just kept grinning as he put put the books into his pack before shouldering the weight of his life back on.

"Alright let's get out of here." They all walked out and into the late-morning sun that shone above them. The day seemed rather nice, or what passed for nice since the war, with the clouds being almost white instead of the usual silvery grey that hung around the world. The wind had died as well leaving the world around them in a strange silence. The dust still flowed through the air but at a much nicer pace that didn't choke when walking.

"We gonna make it to the next town before night Natsu?" Gray kept his eyes on the paved road ahead.

"Probably not. Left a little later than we could have. I'd say we'll get just under half way before we're forced to stop." Natsu was looking at a map he had pulled out of his coat pocked and matching it to where the Sun was and a compass that he held up with it. "I think we're in Monticello, just South of here is the University of Arkansas actually. We would be able to get a little farther than Monroe today but there's a good stretch of nothing after that so stopping there before we hit that would be a good idea. If only we had a fucking-"

"Jeep!" Lucy shouted and startled them all into looking across the stree twhere there in fact did sit a lone Jeep.

"Holy shit."

"No way does it work." The group moved cautiosly towards it weapons drawn. Lucy had Natsu's knife still in her hand but had yet to be given any kind of fire arm. The other three had their weapons out and moved in a practiced fashion with all of them walking in sync with their chests slanted slightly to their right. When they got to the Jeep they circled it and wiped the windows to check inside.

"Nobody." Gajeel growled.

"Open in three...two...one!" Natsu opened the passenger door, Gajeel the drivers and Gray the back left and stepped back with their guns aimed at the openings. Nothing happened and the men gave a sigh of relief before reholstering their weapons. Lucy opened the trunk and started checking for supplies and weapons.

"Anything?"

"No!" The blonde huffed and crossed her arms. "Do you think it'll start?"

"Haven't found one yet that does. Probably doesn't even have a battery in-" Gray yelped when the engine of the Jeep roared to life with rumbling passion. Natsu laughed and danced around in a circle while Gajeel stuck his head out the open door and laughed.

"Gee-hee, you were saying Icicle?"

"Fuck off." Gray hopped in the back with Lucy while Natsu hopped in the front.

"It got gas?"

"Full tank if you can believe it."

"Nice!"

"Where to Fireman!"

"South on the 425 until you hit Monroe! Next stop, Louisiana!"

**The group gains a new member and a vehicle! Where exactly is it that they're heading, and what stories will be told along the way? Read and Review y'all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The chapters are coming out pretty quickly right now because I have HUGE writers block over the second part of my Zombie AU so I'm hoping this clears my head a bit and gives some room for me to finish that up. **

Five hours into the trip the group had switched things up a bit. Gajeel now sat in the passenger seat and Gray was driving with his iPod headphones on blaring music into his ears. For 5 years he had been saving the thing, only turning it on when he absolutely needed to calm himself but now with the discovery of the Jeep and power cords in said Jeep he was having fun just listening to what he loved. Natsu sat in the back with Lucy, twirling his lighter in left hand and resting his head upon the right one against the window. Lucy looked over at the man and noticed caught a glimpse of the letters that were inscribed onto the side of it.

G.C.

"G.C.? Who's G.C.?" Natsu stopped fiddling with the lighter and slipped it back into his pocket without taking his eyes off the passing trees outside the Jeep. There was an eery silence for a minute or two before he finally spoke.

"My sensei. I knew him since I was a kid, owned a dojo near my house." He paused before continuing. "We were on our way to a martial arts competition in Chicago when the world went to shit. We kept going and found Gajeel in downtown Columbus and Gray on the outskirts of Lexington. Five years of travelling across the continent and we were all still together. He taught us, protected us, kept us all safe. Then a couple weeks ago-"

"Shut up." The two jumped when Gray's voice came from the drivers seat.

"What?"

"I said shut up. We just met her. I know you need someone to talk to about it but she ain't the right one." The only sound for the next couple minutes was Gajeel's snoring and the rumbling of the engine.

"I'm sorry." Lucy looked down at the floor of the vehicle. "I know how hard it is to lose people." A tear strolled its way down her cheek.

"Who were you with before you found us?"

"A band called the Celestials-"

"Never heard of them."

"They were more Indie Rock than anything. They were good though, they had a good sound. I was going around with them on their tour and we had just hit Cincinnati when everything happened. I've been wandering ever since." More tears joined the first one and soon the blonde was crying away with Natsu and Gray sitting awkwardly beside and in front of her. When she had finally calmed down a little bit Gray continued his interrogation.

"What were you doing on the road with a band? Were you like the stage manager or something?" Lucy shook her head.

"No, nothing like that." She almost seemed embarrased when she continued. "My father was um, was the owner of their record label and I was the one that convinced him to sign them." Gray and Natsu started laughing.

"Rich girl eh? So who were you fucking in the band that convinced you to do it?" Her mouth dropped and she gave Natsu an incredulously insulted look.

"How dare you! I would never-"

"Come on, spit it out." Gray stared at her from the rearview mirror.

"Loke their lead vocalist." Lucy crossed her arms and glared at the two men who both just laughing. After a couple minutes they finally both calmed down enough to talk again.

"Okay. Okay we'll stop. We're sorry." Natsu sounded genuine enough which made Lucy smile a little bit at the man.

"Wanna explain why you have pink hair?" Natsu brought a hand up to his hair and twirled some of the longer strands.

"Dyed it pink when I lost a bet. As far as some guy with a doctorate or something can tell, it has to do with the radiation that was thrown into the wind. I don't know of the details but essentially the chemicals fused to the hair DNA or some bullshit. All I know is this is the end result! I've even shaved my head completely and it all came back!" He laughed until a loud bang caused a hole to appear in the windshield and then the back window.

"FUCKING HELL!" Gray hit the brakes and pulled a gun from his left holster. Gajeel woke up a second later and pulled both of his pistols out while also unbuckling his seatbelt. Natsu from the back tossed his pistol to Lucy who caught it with expert hands and waited for the Jeep to stop. Gray hit the emergency brake near his foot and spun the Jeep so that its passenger side faced the road and the four jumped out and behind the wheels of it with Gajeel launching himself across the arm rest and through the drivers side door that faced the way they had been coming from. The echoes of the rifle that had put a hole in the windshield could still be heard way off in the distance but when it faded nothing could be heard save for the chirps of random insects and birds that flitted their way through the trees on either side of the highway. The four sat with baited breath, waiting for something to happen. Finally Gajeel yelled out.

"Whoever the fuck that was you woke me up from my nap!"

"Sorry! Needed to get your attention." The womans voice came from right above them. As a group the four raised their guns and flattened their backs against the pavement to get a better shot.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A gruff male voice called to them from the trees and the group finally looked at their surroundings. Including the sillhouette that was standing on the roof of the Jeep, they were surrounded by five people. On their right was the man who had talked; muscle bound in every way and holding what looked like an M16 in his hands. Beside him a busty woman with long brown hair and rectangular glasses held a standard hunting rifle. Both were wearing camo military uniforms. On their left the same military uniforms but two men instead both holding M16's as well. The one of the right was taller with dark purple hair, his shorter friend on the left had long green hair that was scraggly and unkempt.

"Get up slowly and put your weapons on the ground." The sillhouetted woman called to them from the top of the Jeep. The group did everything they were told and voluntarily raised their hands as well.

"Good!" The woman jumped down and turned to them. Short, white hair and wearing what looked like a black Navy Seals tactical uniform and boots she came up to Natsu and looked him up and down. She carried an M107 rifle over her right shoulder and held her chest out enough to pop her bust as much as possible. "Bag em!" Before they could react sacks were thrown over their heads and the world went black.

1 Hour Later

Natsu was sure they were in Monroe now. He knew he had been put in the back of a pick up truck because it was incredibly windy and the noise from said wind was louder than normal. The truck had slowed down just now and Natsu was pretty sure there was a second one behind his that held the rest of the company. Suddenly the truck started taking turns and Natsu knew they had definitely reached a town, probably Monroe since it was the closest one. With a squeak the truck rolled to a stop and Natsu was hauled out with a grunt and led up what felt like stone steps. He heard the groaning of doors and before he could take in anything else his hood was pulled off and Natsu was left standing in the middle of a wood furnished courtroom. On his left were the empty benches of where the Jury would normally be and on his right a huge table where he could see all their weapons laid out. It was in front of Natsu and the others that had been lined up beside him that his attention was brought to suddenly. Where the desk for the judge should have been was a large chair and in it sat the most beautiful woman Natsu had ever seen. Her long white hair flowed down to the middle of her back at least, her gorgeous, curved body fitting perfectly into an officers uniform and piercing blue eyes boring deep into her core.

"My name is Colonel Strauss formerly of the United States Army and now Chief Commanding Officer of the Town Republic of Monroe. You have thirty seconds each to state who you are and where you are going or I will kill you. Before you start let me make one thing clear; I am not joking and I will know if you are lying."

**The plan was laid out, the wheels were turning and pasts were being shared. Of course when do plans ever go as they're supposed to? Don't know when the next chapter will be out! Read/Review y'all and thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu gulped. Colonel Strauss may have been beautiful but her voice was commanding and tough. The way she looked into his soul with those eyes that seemed to have gone from soft and lovely to cold and demonizing instantaneously.

"My name is Natsu. The taller one is Gajeel, the ugly one is Gray and the chick is Lucy." There was a grunt from the others as each was named except for Gray who Natsu could feel glaring into the side of his head.

"Alright now what's your purpose for coming into our territory." She barely moved any other muscles as she talked, it didn't even look like Strauss was breathing.

"We didn't see any signs stating it was your territory. If we had seen anything to suggest this area was taken we would have taken a different route and gone around. We're heading South because... well because we have nowhere else to go." Natsu finally broke eye contact and looked down at the ground. "We didn't mean any trouble. We're not dangerous."

"The last person who told me he wasn't dangerous caused this town and myself a lot of pain." Natsu looked back up at her.

"But we're not whoever that was and-"

"You, Gajeel your name was?" Gajeel nodded. " You were caught dual-weilding Colt Anaconda revolvers. Firing those with both hands on the gunis hard enough but one in each? Only the deadliest of men or the strongest would know how to do that."

"You trying to compliment me or something Colonel? Cause it sure as fuck sounds like it."

"Mind. Your. _Tongue_." Venom was spat from the last word. "I will not have that kind of language in my house."

"I don't really give a fuck what you want in your building. You took away my guns, you put a bag over my head, you threw me into the back of a pickup truck and now are having me stand in front of you like an interrogation. So don't sit there on your big fucking chair and tell me to watch my fucking language or I'll come over there and beat your ass into it." There was a silence that could have been cut through with a knife if somebody had one on them. Strauss went from scary to down right terrifying as she stared Gajeel down.

"If that's what you want." She stood up from the chair that she was in and walked down the few steps to the main floor. "Come and get me."

"Gee-hee." Gajeel didn't even think about what was going on but instead charged straight in for the fight. His first right hook was heading right for Strauss' head and would have connected if she hadn't suddenly disappeared from his view. One second she was there and the next gone only to reappear behind him and in one fell swoop snap a left punch into his right shoulder and snap it out of the socket. With a grunt Gajeel reacted to the hit and moved right, straight into a roundhouse kick that brought him down in a second. Strauss stood over the breathing, K.O.'d body of Gajeel for a few seconds before looking over at Natsu, Gray and Lucy who were all standing completely still; mouths gaping open and eyes bulging out of their heads.

"I will have somebody fix his shoulder. You already have rooms set up and your weapons will be returned to you. Please don't fuck up the chance you're being given or I will kill you myself." With that the gorgeous woman turned on her heels and walked out of the courtroom while the group that had brought them into the town escorted Natsu, Gray and Lucy to their weapons.

Mira moved out the door on the side of the room that led to the hallway, striding down it with perfect military precision. She was thinking about the group as she walked. The blonde was no threat, neither were Gajeel or Gray. Natsu on the other hand... Mira smiled to herself; Natsu could be fun to play with for a bit. Realizing what she was thinking the Colonel shook her head to clear the thoughts away.

The old wooden walls echoed her footsteps up the staircase that she got to and without breaking stride she went up them and into the door on her right. Reaching her office the white haired Colonel felt warm arms wrap around her and she sighed when her blonde, spiky-haired love pulled her in for a kiss.

"Now that wasn't so hard to deal with was it?"

"Not at all my love." She stared into his eyes. Those lovely grey eyes. She loved Laxus. She loved him more than anything in the world.

Back in the courtroom

The largest of the men with a white hair like Strauss -and the first girl they had met with short hair- picked up Gajeel fireman style and grabbed his Colts on the way by the table. Natsu went to grab his own shotgun but ended up grabbing the hand of the short haired girl from before who had also gone to grab the gun.

"Sorry." The girl blushed a little bit and averted her eyes to the right.

"What's your name?" Natsu looked down at her while checking the ammo on his shotgun. Her eyes were the same blue as what Natsu guessed was her sister who had just beat the shit out of Gajeel.

"Second Lieutenant Lisanna Strauss of the United States Marines." There was a sudden formality to her voice when she talked about her rank that made Natsu smile.

"Lieutenant eh? Impressive."

"Not as impressive as big sister. She got to Colonel faster than anybody in history AND she's a woman." Natsu nodded along with her.

"That is impressive. So you gonna show us to our places?" The girl smiled.

"Absolutely!" They all walked out of the courthouse; all except Gajeel who was being carried by the larger man. "The guy carrying your friend, my big brother, is Elfman."

"Wait. As in the wrestler?" Gray looked over at the large camo-suited man. "That is awesome! Dude can I have your autograph?"

"Only a real man would know who I am! I'll give you more than an autograph I'll teach you some of my moves!" Gray grinned and looked around the street they were walking up. The main shops that would have normally covered the downtown area of the town had been turned into food storages, ammo depots and makeshift hospitals and nurseries. People in all manner of dark clothing moved around the town carrying crates with food and other things from one side of the street to another. As Lisanna and Natsu talked their way up the street a soccer ball came flying out of nowhere and straight for Gray's head.

"Watch out!" Before he could even react the green-haired man was in front of him, heading the ball straight up in the air and juggling it off his knees when it came back down. After a couple of hits he let it drop and fired it back up the street to where a dark-blue haired teenager stood waiting for it.

"Thanks !" She ran off with a purple haired boy and a little girl in a cowboy hat. The guy whose name was Freed apparently turned and grinned at Gray.

"Gotta let them have fun sometimes eh?"

"Yeah, right." The rest of the way down the road the group chatted away and Lisanna gave details about the town.

"When everything went down the town came together and built a wall around it, you can't really see it well from here but it's about twelve feet high." At that point the group got to a small square in the middle of the town and as they made their way across it Lucy noticed a large statue of what looked like a rather young man in military fatigue like the others from the group that had captured them.

"Whose that?" Lisanna stopped talking and looked up at the statue. His feet were spread out and aligned with his shoulders, his arms crossed over his puffed out chest and a pair of headphones lay around his neck just to throw the whole 'military style' look off a bit.

"Laxus. About a year ago he saved this whole town by fighting a band of rogues off by himself. Though he died in the process. He was also Mira's husband."

**Alliances are forged and some others don't seem to be off to a great start... Read and Review y'all!**


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